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Per Lagerkvist. Favorite. Progress Moscow 1981

Per Lagerqvist

BARABBAS

Everybody knows how they hung on the crosses then, and who gathered around him—Mary his mother, and Mary Magdalene, and Veronica, and Simon of Cyrene, and Joseph of Arimathea, the one who later wrapped the shroud around him. But down the slope, a little farther away, another man stood and stared at the one who was hanging on the cross and dying, watching his death throes from beginning to end. The man's name is Barabbas. This book is written about him.

He was about thirty years old, strong, but yellow in face, red beard, black hair. His eyebrows were also black, and his eyes were sunken, as if to hide his gaze better. A deep scar began under one eye, went down and was lost in the beard. But it doesn't really matter what a person looks like.

He followed the crowd through the streets from the praetorium itself, but lagged behind the others, and when the exhausted rabbi fell down with the cross, he slowed his pace and waited so as not to catch up with him, and the cross was forced to carry the same Simon. There were few men in the crowd, except, of course, the Roman soldiers; The condemned man was escorted more by women, and even by a flock of boys - these tomboys were always there if someone was led down their street to be crucified. They won't miss the fun. But they soon got tired and returned to their usual games, glancing at the man who was walking behind the crowd, who had a scar on his cheek.

And so he stood on the forehead and looked at the one who hung on the middle cross, and could not take his eyes off him. He did not want to go up here, everything here was unclean, everything was full of infection, it was said that anyone who set foot on this accursed, accursed place would leave a part of his soul here and return here, and stay here. Skulls and bones were lying everywhere and rotten crosses, they were no longer good for anything, but they were not removed so as not to touch anything. Why was he standing here? He did not know this man, he did not care about him. Why did Barabbas come to Golgotha, since he was released?

The crucified man's head hung down, he was breathing heavily. It means that it is not long left. He could not be called strong. His body was thin and bony, his arms thin, as if he had never worked with them. Strange. The beard is sparse, and the chest is completely hairless, like a boy's. Barabbas did not like him.

When he saw him, even then, near the palace, he immediately realized that he was not like all people. Why, he could not say, he just understood it. He had never met anyone even like him. But maybe it seemed so to him because he had just come out of the torture chamber and his eyes were not yet accustomed to the light. So he saw it at first, as if in some kind of radiance. The radiance, of course, immediately faded, Barabbas's eyes again became sharp, as always, they again saw everything around him perfectly, and not only the one who stood alone near the palace. But all the same, he was kind of strange, unlike anyone else. And Barabbas could not understand how such a man could be thrown into prison, sentenced to death, just like himself. It didn't fit in his head. Of course, what was the business of Barabbas, but how could they condemn such a person? It is clear that he is innocent.

Yes, and so they led him to crucifixion — and they took off the chains from Barabbas and set him free. He has nothing to do with it. They decided for themselves. Their will was to let go of whomever they wanted, so they let Barabbas go. Both were sentenced to death, and one had to be released. He was amazed. While he was being freed from his chains, he stood and watched as the soldiers led the other under the arch, and a cross was already lying on his back.

He stood for a long time and looked at the empty arch. Then the guard pushed him and shouted:

"Well, what are you standing for, your mouth agape?" Get out of the way, hello, you've been released!"